A good social media presence could land you a job in this age

Not everyone can use the Internet or social media efficiently. But, 20-year-old Jason Thompson from the United Kingdom thought of an idea that brought him thousands of job offers within a few hours. To make it creative, Jason posted a picture of himself holding a paper with “Somebody, Please Hire Me” on LinkedIn. Little did he know that it would be raining offers on him. So much so that his phone had crashed multiple times due to the constant notifications! As someone interested in in the film industry, he mentioned that his dream job is to be an actor, spreading mental health while his next choice of job would be that of a ‘Personal Assistant’.

“Is anyone looking for a Junior Personal Assistant? I might lack the experience that other candidates have but I make up for this with an abundance of determination and thinking outside of the box. I am 20 years old, I am trying to find my place in the world. I know I will be a great PA. You will not have a better PA! I would love to work for somebody who can also be my Mentor. I am determined and I am willing to go above and beyond. Hire me. You will not regret it,” his post stated, following which he was swamped with offers from all the corporate bigwigs after it went viral! What clicked for him was that the message looked creative for recruiters and that he also made a sincere appeal stating his speciality and why companies would love him.

What this example indicates is how recruitment has become quicker and easier through social media. A professional network like LinkedIn has made the job of companies easier to look up the profiles of suitable candidates. Instagram too is emerging as the new LinkedIn for creative people.

According to a global survey, social recruiting is becoming a key part of HR departments as 3 in 10 employers (30 percent) have someone dedicated to the task. “When researching candidates for a job, employers who use social networking sites are looking for information that supports their qualifications for the job, if the candidate has a professional online persona, what other people are posting about the candidates and also, are looking for a reason not to hire a candidate,” states the survey.

Going by this revelation, it is evident that cultivating your presence online can lead to reward. More than 4 in 10 employers have found content on a social networking site that caused them to hire the candidate.

“One of the primary reasons employers hire a candidate based on their social media profiles are candidate's background information supported their professional qualifications, great communication skills, a professional image (36 percent), and creativity,” explains Shilpa K, HR of a Corporate Company. Keeping a vigil on the content shared or liked by a candidate or posting sensible content could create a good impression among recruiters, she adds.

Interestingly, you can’t be callous about what you post online once you get hired. Candidates are constantly watched about what they post on their social media and whether their views conflict with that of their employers. While recruitment has become easy through social media, it has also thrown open several challenges for companies looking to hire candidates.

Hiring process and resume submission has to be made easy, companies have to spend more on LinkedIn marketing to ensure that the vacancy is seen by potential candidates and most importantly, the company page must have clear and concise information, attracting the candidate to the organisation. “These factors play a major role in the company. Work culture is another key aspect that Gen Z and millennials look at. If they don’t like the look and feel of the company, they’re not interested,” adds head of HR & Recruiting at a leading MNC.

While professional networks have created a lot of transparency in hiring, they have also created a hurdle of sifting through 10s of thousands of profiles which could be irrelevant. According to a Ernst & Young (E&Y) survey, it is becoming difficult to hire people on professional social media networks gradually.

One in three companies said that it was “fairly easy” to find new employees in 2015, this number has gone down to a mere one in five in 2017. The reason for this, according to Digital Entrepreneur Remco Livain is that many organisations lack the talent that knows how to work with these new tools. “The problem is top-down and not the other way round. Therefore, companies too should address them in a top-down approach,” he adds.